Trace-fastener.



.No. 888,213. PATENTED MAY 19, 1908. J. G. WOOD.

TRACE FASTENER- APPLICATION FILED 001215, 1907.

THE NORRJs PETERS ca, wasnmcrou, o. c.

JOHN WOOD, OF PORTSMOUTH, OI-llO.

TRACE-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1908.

Application filed October 15, 1907. Serial No. 397,593.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. \VOOD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Trace- .Fastener, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to means for securing traces to whiffletrees, andthe principal object of the present invention is to provide novel,simple and eil'ective means for retaining the trace in position on thewhil'tletrec, said means being readily operable to permit the tracebeing detached from the whil'l'letree, and furthermore being soconstructed that it will not become clogged with dirt and will notbecome inoperative by water or snow freezing therein.

The preferred embodiment of the inven tion is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the end portion of a whiflietree showing thenovel retaining means in place thereon. Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view through the retaining means showing the hookin inoperative position. .lfi ig. 3 is a similar view but showing thehook in operative position. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view. Fig. 5 isa detail perspective view of the base, and the parts carried thereby.Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the hook. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of a portion of the cover. Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3, butillustrating the structure without the casing.

Similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings The whi'filetree is designated by the referencenumeral 8, and mounted thereon is a support. This support comprises abase piece secured to the whitlletree by screws 10 or other suitablefasteners, and having an outstanding wall'll disposed transversely ofthe whiffletree and preferably constituting a part of a casing. The wallis provided with rearwardly extending ears 12 which are formed on theirouter sides with tapered hooks 13. The wall furthermore is provided witha socket or opening 14 in its upper portion, forming a hinge pintle 15.A trace retaininghook 16 is provided, having a right angularly disposedterminal 17 that is movable into and out of coaction with thewhittletree, the hook being formed with a suitable thumb piece 18. Thishook is furthermore provided between its ends with an integralunder-turned lip 19 that passes through the socket 1 1 of the wall 11,and is bent around the pintle so that the hook is pivotally mounted onthe wall. The hook furthermore has a rearwardly extending tail piece 20terminating in a rounded enlargement formed by coiling the end, asshown. The base 9 is furthermore provided with a spring 21 preferablyintegral therewith, this spring extending forwardly and upwardly towardthe wall 1 1 and terminating in a rounded enlargement 22, against whichthe enlargement of the tail piece slidably bears. It will thus beevident by reference to Figs. .2 and 3 that the hook may be swung toupright position so that the terminal 17 thereof is out of coaction withthe whi'l'lletree, and consequently a trace can be placed on the end ofsaid whiilletree. In this connection it will be noted that the springmaintains the hook in its inoperative position. After a trace has beenplaced thereupon, the hook is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, andthe rounded portion of the tail piece, riding over the rounded terminal22 of the spring, will assume a position so that said spring will holdthe hook in its operative position.

In order to house the spring and cooperating parts against dirt,moisture and accident, a cover 23 is preferably employed, which, withthe wall 1.1 constitutes a casing. This cover is tapered, and has itsinner end secured by a screw 2 1 or other suitable fastener. The sidewalls of the cover at the outer end are 'provided with inwardly turnedhooks 25, which as illustrated in Fig. 1, interlock with the hooks 13 ofthe cars 12, and thus ell'ectively secure the outer end of the cover inposition. This cover also has inwardly extending projections 26 thatengage over the hooks 13 and tend to prevent any upward movement of thesame. By this construction, the cover reinforces the end wall 11 andassists in preventing the same from being bent or distorted from anycause. However, it is to be understood that while the cover isimportant, and often desirable, it may be dispensed with, and the devicewithout the casing is illustrated in Fig. 8. hen the casing is notemployed, the space between the base 9 and spring 21 constitutes a guidethrough which the reins may be passed, and as the reins are thus held onopposite sides of the animal and away from the same, there is no dangerof the tail of such animal being placed over the reins. This also is animportant feature.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation, andmany advantages of the herein described invention, will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, without further description, and it will beunder stood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, andminor details of construction, may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with awhiffletree, of a support mounted thereon and comprising a base having afixed outstanding wall disposed transversely of the whifiietree, saidwall being provided at its outer end with an opening or socket formingan outer hinge pintle, a trace holding hook located longitudinally ofthe whiflietree, said hook being provided with an intermediate lip cutlongitudinally from said hook and bent around the pintle of the wall,forming a hinge connection for the hook, said hook extending beyond thehinge connection and having its terminal coiled to produce a roundedend, and a spring projecting from and extending over the base, andbearing against the coiled terminals of the extension of the hook tomaintain said hook both in and out of coaction with the whiflietree,said base and spring being spaced apart to permit a rein being passedtherethrough and guided thereby.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with a casingcomprising an outstanding end wall, and a cover having a detachableinterlocking engagement with the end Wall, of a movable trace retainingdevice, and controlling means for the retaining device mounted in thecasing.

3. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with a casingcomprising an outstanding wall having hooks, and a cover having hooksthat interlock with the hooks of the outstanding Wall, of a movabletrace retaining device, and controlling means for the retaining devicemounted in the casing.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with awhiffietree, of a base secured to the whiffletree, and having anoutstanding Wall provided with ears having hooks, a cover secured to thecasing and having hooks that interlock with the hooks of the ears, atrace retaining hook pivoted on the outstanding wall and having a tailpiece located within the casing, and a spring projecting from the baseand arranged to bear against the tail piece to maintain the hook inoperative and inoperative relation with respect to the whiffletree.

5. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with awhiffletree, of an outstanding wall carried thereby and having a pintle,a trace retaining hook having an intermediate lip cut from one end andcoiled about the pintle to form a pivotal connection for the hook uponthe wall, the portions of the hook on opposite sides of the lipextending beyond the same and having their free terminals coiled, and aspring having its free end doubled to provide an enlargement that bearsagainst the coils of the hook to maintain said hook both in and out ofoperative relation with the whiflietree.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoafiiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. WOOD.

WVitnesses:

ANsELM T. HoLooMB, Jr, EDWARD V. LEICHNER.

